Barack Obama Shifts Attention to Wall Street
Here is a recent move that will probably displease the left wing of the U.S. president’s electorate, which is already reproaching him for not having launched proceedings against the officials responsible for the monumental collapse of the world economy in 2008: Barack Obama is attempting to reconcile with Wall Street. A few weeks away from beginning his reelection campaign, the 44th president of the United States recently invited 24 finance industry executives who support the Democratic Party to the White House for an hour of discussion during which all questions and criticisms were encouraged. Following the meeting, the president even made personal phone calls to those who were unable to attend. This is a radical change from the period when Obama was calling Wall Street bankers “fat cats.”
This is taking place because, in coming months, the support of Wall Street, the primary source of campaign funding, will prove all the more crucial. Obama has a whopping one billion dollars — a small fortune — to raise.
The Democratic Party must be a bit anxious for Obama to go up against Mitt Romney, former head of a venture capital firm and the probable Republican candidate for November 2012. Obama will have to convince Wall Street, which traditionally favors Republican candidates, that his economic policy, far from being adverse to the financial industry, has actually helped put the economy back on track or at least stabilize it, since Obama inherited it on the brink of collapse when he entered the White House in January 2009. Above all, the president will remind Wall Street that he has saved a number of financial institutions from bankruptcy by organizing a massive bailout that cost him [the Democratic Party] votes in last November’s midterm elections.
Last month, Jim Messina, Obama’s campaign manager, came to New York for a series of meetings with certain key representatives from Wall Street, most notably those who supported Hillary Clinton in 2008. Before the end of June, Obama himself will make the trip to New York. He has invited bankers, hedge fund managers and investment fund managers to dine with him at the elegant restaurant Daniel. A dinner there costs $195 per person.
Despite the billions of dollars the Obama administration has spent rescuing the banks, it will take more to earn the favor of financiers. A sign of this challenge is that banker Steven Rattner, pillar of the New York Democratic financial establishment and former Obama administration automobile czar, remains neutral at this time. He raised more than $2 million for Hillary Clinton in 2008.
Obama is counting on Chief of Staff William Daley, a former executive at JP Morgan Chase, to return these lost sheep to the fold. A greater likelihood of the incumbent's reelection would also go far in returning him to the good graces of the finance world. Better to be on the winning side, even if the winner is a Democrat.
This is taking place because, in coming months, the support of Wall Street, the primary source of campaign funding, will prove all the more crucial. Obama has a whopping one billion dollars — a small fortune — to raise.
The Democratic Party must be a bit anxious for Obama to go up against Mitt Romney, former head of a venture capital firm and the probable Republican candidate for November 2012. Obama will have to convince Wall Street, which traditionally favors Republican candidates, that his economic policy, far from being adverse to the financial industry, has actually helped put the economy back on track or at least stabilize it, since Obama inherited it on the brink of collapse when he entered the White House in January 2009. Above all, the president will remind Wall Street that he has saved a number of financial institutions from bankruptcy by organizing a massive bailout that cost him [the Democratic Party] votes in last November’s midterm elections.
Last month, Jim Messina, Obama’s campaign manager, came to New York for a series of meetings with certain key representatives from Wall Street, most notably those who supported Hillary Clinton in 2008. Before the end of June, Obama himself will make the trip to New York. He has invited bankers, hedge fund managers and investment fund managers to dine with him at the elegant restaurant Daniel. A dinner there costs $195 per person.
Despite the billions of dollars the Obama administration has spent rescuing the banks, it will take more to earn the favor of financiers. A sign of this challenge is that banker Steven Rattner, pillar of the New York Democratic financial establishment and former Obama administration automobile czar, remains neutral at this time. He raised more than $2 million for Hillary Clinton in 2008.
Obama is counting on Chief of Staff William Daley, a former executive at JP Morgan Chase, to return these lost sheep to the fold. A greater likelihood of the incumbent's reelection would also go far in returning him to the good graces of the finance world. Better to be on the winning side, even if the winner is a Democrat.